Day 7,8, & 9!

The final day of VBS was a big hit with the kids. One of the kids at the VBS accepted Jesus and she will be baptised on Sunday after church. About 50 attended the final day that ended with taking the kids to Shoe Show for a pair of back-to-school shoes. With big grins on their faces they were escorted by a Happy Project team member as they shopped for their shoes.

More on this in another post.

Friday we went to Red River Gorge but the river was too high for safe canoeing. Instead we went to the top of Natural Bridge and took in the views. Afterwards we had a picnic lunch and skipped rocks in a nearby stream. When we returned to the Happy Church the team went into rehersal mode for the first annual "America's Got No Talent" show. We found some of do have talent. Parents that were able to be reached enjoyed the live-steaming video.

Saturday we welcomed the Belayer Community for a day-long fun-filled picnic and game day. The Team was back in action escorting those under 8 around the various games and food. As night time came we enjoyed a movie under the stars. The Ultimate Gift was a big hit with everyone.

As I type this the boys are waking and the band is arriving for practice. We will see everyone around 4:30pm. Feel free to call 513-404-0078 for an updated time after 2:00pm.

Your Brother on Mission,

Todd

Day 6: Our final day of VBS

We are just a quarter hour away from welcoming the Jackson kids into the Happy Church for our third and final day of VBS! Lunches have been prepared and packed, the rooms arranged and the stage set. Our team has been showing the VBS kids various ways to tell their friends and family the message of the Gospel. Billy, currently dressed as Moses, has informed me that today's challenge is to act out the story. Maddy, Emma and Alicia are hard at work in the craft room finalizing the particulars of their team picture take-home. We are ready to go, and all so excited to share in the Good News of Jesus with our Jackson friends!

Thank you all for your prayers and support!

Kelli

This is the new Happy Thrift Store.

After the clean-up shot of the carport.
Carport "before" picture.
Stevie with some of the HC kids.

Day 5 - Onward!

The day began with rain.  It rained all day!  But word is getting around that the VBS is FUN and more kids came.  We expect an even larger group today as we finish the VBS and Pastor Tabor commissions our new army of disciples. 

The team has worked well together on the VBS and did a great job keeping everything and everyone moving.  The VBS'ers has such short attention spans and huge needs for attention that is almost has to feel like one-on-one to them at times. This is certainly experience they will remember when our team has families of their own (yes, I am grinning too!). 

Right after VBS, we tackled some service projects.  With all the day-to-day tasks that the Tabor's and the Jacobson's tend too, some things get put off for another day.  One of the "another day" projects we took on was clean up under the Tabor house carport.  We cleaned hundreds of donated pop bottles and moved then to a storage closet in the happy shack.  We also removed trash and put away other items that made it hard to walk under the carport. The team knocked out the job in about 45 minutes and begged for more to do.  They went from the carport to the heat of an unventilated new building that will become the Happy Store. The store will be like a "thrift" store for the community.  The kids will also be able to earn HappyBucks by serving around the church, learning memory verses, or attending on Sunday that can be spent on items in the store. 

Finally the day ended with a trip to a local ice cream parlor.  Everyone is excited to see what the final day of VBS brings.

More at the end of today!  Keep praying for God to do great things through the HP2009 team.

Your Brother on Mission,

Todd

Audio from the video clip in the last post....

Please excuse the background comments on the video. We were not able to edit it before posting.

Thanks,

Todd

At the end of Day 3...

As I sit here at 9:55pm the Team is rehearsing and making final adjustments to tomorrows opening day of the VBS. So much energy was spent today with the food deliveries that I am surprised they are still running about.

Many of the folks we delivered food to allowed us to pray with them in their homes. Most places we visited were still cleaning up from the recent floods that in some cases took trailers down river.



Recently the Happy Church put up a small building behind the Happy Shack that will serve as a thrift store for the community. With a huge inventory in waiting the new facility will provide much needed replacement provisions to those who lost everything and are starting from scratch. Some families had to live in tents on their property while their trailers were cleaned and made livable. In most cases that meant shoveling mud and muck from the floors and letting it dry enough for them to move back in. New carpet is not an option for most.

That's all for now as it is nearing our lights-out time.

Thanks for your prayers! They are really being felt as our team becomes a family.

God is good!

Day 3

This food was delivered to the Happy Church this morning from West Chester, Ohio! It came from many sources funneled through "Project 5 2". The load included breads, bagels, can goods, and toiletries that our team delivered to about 50 families. It was an amazing opportunity for the team to show love and God's provisioning to the families of the Happy Church.

Day 2 - Getting to know the Tabor's.

Today we woke up at 7:30... well some of us did. Breakfast was at 8:30am with a group devotion at 9:30am. Alicia and her father Frank arrived around 10:00am making the team complete.

After our clean-up duties we welcomed the Happy Church members that started trickling in. Church started at 11:00 and listened to Pastor Mike Tabor preach. Philip also lead worship. After that we played with small children from the church. We had a wonderful lunch of sloppy joes cooked by: Janice Crock.

The Hope team got an introduction to bible quizzing as we helped by practicing as part of their team.

Before dinner we will be leading the Happy Church Youth service.

Day 1 - Looks like we made it!

The team arrived to a Happy Church welcome around 9:45pm. Weather was perfect for driving thanks to our expert weatherman keeping up behind the storms. It is amazing to see the changes since the last time we were here.

We will get some pics up as soon as we can.

Let's get this party started!

It is time. Time to hone our skills and take this show on the road. Final training camp is just 10 hours away and it looks like we are ready. Check back often for updates.

2009 Happy Project is 1 week away! 

Watch this blog for updates!